Beyond the Binary
by Blizzard of the Caverns
Summary: Long ago a terrible feud divided cats by gender, and from the conflict came the creation of two clans: DeltaClan and KarstClan. However different they were, toms and she-cats knew they relied on one another for survival, for this was the way of the world, and how it always was and would be. However, one day a kit is born and denies either gender, thus disrupting the frail order.
1. Prologue

There was once a barren scrubland in the middle of a desert with little to nothing in it. Apart from little shrubs and the occasional hare, the red-brown flatlands were almost as barren as the cloudless, pale blue sky above. If anything were foolish enough to journey through the scrublands, they would find absolutely nothing to relieve them of the exhaustion of travel and likely succumb to the unbearable heat or dehydration. Fortunately, miles into the desert was a vast network of canyons carved out by an immense river that twisted through the rocks like a rattlesnake, supporting the growth of various small trees and shrubs. However, plants weren't the only living organisms that the river encouraged to flourish in the surrounding area. Lizards, hawks, snakes, and even deer made their homes in the canyons and grazed and hunted amongst the rocks and small grasses.

In one particular section of the great canyon there lived a fairly large feral cat population that inhabited the land from the edge of the river delta to the rocky karst deposits to the top of the river up north. Due to their numbers, many of the feral cats decided to establish themselves as the dominant predators of the ecosystem.

However, it was this decision that caused tension amongst the population. While some cats decided to immediately take action and launch multiple attacks on the other predatory creatures to rid them off of "feline territory," others reasoned that the other predators in the canyon were far too dangerous, and attempting to rid them of their homes would cause more deaths than the predators would cause through predation or any other lethal actions. Besides, predators would always live where prey lived, so what was the point? The idea was simply unrealistic and far too costly.

Then, the focus of the conflict shifted from safety to gender. While cats of both genders sided with each of the two views, more toms appeared to support immediate action against predators and more she-cats tended to support staying put and not risking precious lives. This sparked even more conflict and began to generate stereotypes between the sexes. Toms came to believe that she-cats were too weak and emotional to see logic, more concerned with the safety of kits than with the future of every other cat. She-cats, on the other hand, believed toms to be too barbaric and careless to see logic, foolish enough to throw their lives away and act like senseless, moronic dogs.

Tensions between the two genders rose to a point where both sides found themselves unable to cooperate, and thus decided that they must be separated. From this decision came the creation of two clans: DeltaClan, the clan of she-cats, and KarstClan, the clan of toms. As their names suggested, DeltaClan took the territory from the top of the river delta to the end of the marshlands, and KarstClan took the rocky territory of the karsts to the beginning of the interior of the canyons.

As different as the two clans were, they soon reached the issue that they would need each other in order to continue the livelihood of their clans, however much they disliked it. Essentially, the two genders were a "necessary evil" to one another. The two leaders of the original clans, Deltastar and Karststar, decided that once every year the toms and she-cats of age in the clans would meet to be paired together in order to breed. However, to avoid any relations between the paired cats, the leaders would purposely match the toms and she-cats least compatible with one another.

At two moons of age, the kittens spawned from the temporary partnership would be divided in the camp, seperated by gender. At six moons of age, the clans would meet once more and the kits would become apprenticed. Tom 'paws would depart from DeltaClan and be transferred to KarstClan, where they would live the rest of their days.

This basic level of cooperation between the clans proved successful, as the clans managed to thrive in the canyons for generations upon generations. No conflicts had spurred between the clans since then, as they were able to survive and deal with their affairs individually. But the harmful stereotypes of the two genders remained at large, despite the seemingly peaceful relationship between the two. They were "equal but unequal," as one early medicine cat put it. To the clans, the world was divided by gender, and it was intent upon staying that way. Change was bad, after all, and organization existed for a reason. Tom and she-cat were two entirely different yet similar beings, both different in the mind and body, but similar in species and reliant upon one another for survival.

And anyone to challenge that delicate order was to face the harsh consequences.

**Allegiances**

**DeltaClan **

**Leader: **Mallardstar - big tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with dark blue eyes and white paws

**Deputy: **Snakestripe - skinny, light brown tabby she-cat with prominent dark stripes and pale golden eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Cloudspeck - white tabby she-cat with gray flecks and green eyes

Sandpaw - light brown tabby she-cat with big ears, a white chest, muzzle, paws, and light golden eyes

**Warriors:**

Lilyfern - pale tortoiseshell she-cat with long fur and pale green eyes

Redstone - red tabby she-cat with long legs, darker paws, and amber eyes

_Apprentice: _Frogpaw - dark brown she-cat with black flecks, a white chest, and green eyes

Doestep - pale brown she-cat with white legs, a white belly, long whiskers, and green eyes

Nutcreek - ginger-brown tabby she-cat with pale amber eyes

Marshfin - dark tortoiseshell she-cat with black paws and gray eyes

_Apprentice: _Geckopaw - ginger-and-black she-cat with a long tail and pale yellow eyes

Yellowgorse - cream-colored she-cat with dark stripes and light amber eyes

Rowanberry - dark ginger she-cat with long fur and yellow eyes

Nightstripe - black-and-white she-cat with a long stripe running down her back and pale blue eyes

_Apprentice: _Shadowpaw - strong black tabby she-cat with piercing amber eyes

Jaggedcloud - black-and-gray tabby she-cat with spiky fur and bright yellow eyes

Sheepfur - tan-and-white she-cat with short fur and pale green eyes

Lizardtail - dappled, light brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes and a long tail

**Queens:**

Falconstreak - gray tabby she-cat with marbled, distinctive black stripes and bright green eyes, mother to Skyshade's kits: Silverkit (silver tom-kit with sleek fur and amber eyes), Stormkit (dark blue-gray tom-kit with blue eyes), and Frostkit (white tom-kit with blue eyes, hard of hearing), Tortoisekit (dappled, dark brown tabby tom-kit with black stripes, a pale brown belly, and green eyes)

Breezewind - light gray-brown she-cat with long fur and blue eyes, mother of Adderthroat's kits: Minnowkit (gray she-kit with a long tail, darker-tinged fur, and blue eyes), Russetkit (dark red-brown tabby she-kit with yellow eyes), and Ferretkit (tall, gray-and-cream tabby born-tom with light amber eyes, non-binary)

**Elders:**

Stonefall - old gray tabby she-cat with matted fur, a light muzzle, and sea-green eyes

Firestorm - flame-colored she-cat with long fur, a silver muzzle, and yellow-green eyes

**KarstClan**

**Leader: **Boulderstar - large, pale gray tom with a white belly and gray eyes

_Apprentice: _Condorpaw - muscular black tom with white legs and dark amber eyes

**Deputy: **Smokewind - dark gray tom with long fur, long legs, a white belly, and blue eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Haretail - brown-gray tom with a stubby tail, white chest, and light amber eyes

**Warriors:**

Marblestripe - silver-and-black tabby tom with black paws and pale amber eyes

Skyshade - gray tom with dark-tinged fur and clear blue eyes

_Apprentice: _Mudpaw - dark brown tom with a dappled coat, lighter paws, and golden eyes

Adderthroat - tall dark brown tabby tom with black stripes, a ginger throat, and amber eyes

_Apprentice: _Rattlepaw - dark ginger-and-brown tabby tom with sharp amber eyes and a white-tipped tail

Blueriver - dark blue-gray tabby tom with a strong build and dark blue eyes

Ashmuzzle - gray tabby tom with a darker muzzle, dark stripes, white paws, and gray-blue eyes

Foxrunner - ginger-and-gray tom with thick fur, a lean build, and sharp amber eyes

Coyotefang - small ginger-brown tabby tom with a pale brown belly and bright yellow eyes

Scorpiontail - dark red-brown tabby tom with light yellow eyes and a bushy tail

Lionclaw - big, lean ginger-brown tom with a dusty pelt, a short tail, and yellow eyes

**Elders:**

Shrubpatch - patchy gray tom with clumps of fur missing and light green-yellow eyes

Duststone - dusty brown tabby tom with big ears and amber eyes

Lizardbelly - brown-and-black tabby tom with a white belly and pale blue eyes


	2. Chapter 1

Everything was calm that evening as the sun almost entirely descended below the canyons in the distance, leaving darkness at the opposite end in the sky to take its place. The long, tall marsh grasses waved gently in the wind that rolled off the canyons, and the black water slowly traveled its course, lit only by the small yellow glows of fireflies that hovered above the surface.

Standing at the left bank of the river was a she-cat, her tortoiseshell pelt barely noticeable in the dimming light. She stared at the water, eyes straining to make out the individual streaks of fish in the dark water. Keeping her distance, she raised a white paw in the air, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. A fairly large fish was swimming toward her way, and in a flash she struck the water, her paw scooping out a fresh trout. However, since her claws hadn't been unsheathed, the fish writhed out of her grasp and landed back in the water with a splash, sending a spray of water into the cat's face. "Mouse-dung!" she hissed to herself in frustration. _So much for being the leader of a water-based clan, _she added in her thoughts.

"Having some bad luck tonight?" came a familiar voice.

The tortoiseshell turned to find another she-cat emerging from the reeds, her light brown pelt blending in well with the vegetation. "Snakestripe," the tortoiseshell sighed, "How much of that did you see?"

"Enough to make that comment," the other she-cat replied, padding up to join her beside the river. Snakestripe watched the river for a few moments before turning her head up to the purple sky, golden eyes twinkling at the very first stars of the night above. "The warm season has treated us well, hasn't it Mallardstar?" she asked.

Mallardstar nodded her head in agreement, also taking the time to admire the view. "I can't say it hasn't. Despite the oppressive heat, the prey has run well, there hasn't been much trouble from predators, and the clan seems to be thriving," she mewed. "But best of all, the nursery is full. The last kit season was successful, and now we have two queens," she added on a pleasant note.

Snakestripe took note of her tone, and her eyes glimmered with mischief. By now, Mallardstar had known to equate that look with something bad. "Oh, have you and Boulderstar been planning to add to that number?" she asked with a smirk.

Mallardstar nudged her friend, almost appalled by the thought. "No," she replied sharply. It was always recommended that a leader produce a progeny, but it wasn't required by clan customs. She wasn't interested in kits, or the thought of having her own. Of course, she would never admit that, or the fact that she didn't even find Boulderstar to be attractive. _But with the way the clans work, that isn't necessary, _she thought.

Snakestripe simply smirked once more before waving her tail, dismissing the topic. "On a similar note, Breezewind has just kitted. I came out here to invite you back to camp to see them. All kits deserve to be formally welcomed by their leader," Snakestripe mewed before turning around and heading back into the grass. Mallardstar's blue eyes brightened at the prospect of the new kittens, so she followed her deputy back home. The two cats ran through the tall marsh grass, feeling the smooth stalks brush gently against their pelts. The air was warm tonight, almost as if the entire world wanted to welcome the new kits.

As its name suggested, the DeltaClan camp was made around the river delta, particularly the little shallow streams connecting to the river. The dens were woven by grass and other materials, held together by mud. Some had also been made out the thick, tangled roots of water-dwelling trees - "floating dens," as they were commonly called. Mallardstar and Snakestripe had entered through one of the deeper streams, the only entrance to the camp. The air was full of tension and excitement, even if most cats by now had usually settled down for the night. After padding onto land and shaking out their pelts, the two cats slowly made their way toward the nursery.

The nursery was in the back of the camp, one of the dens located on the ground and sculpted out of rocks, grass, and mud for safety concerns. The tortoiseshell entered the den, and immediately she was welcomed by the warm scent of milk, feeling at ease almost instantly. Fortunately, she was able to make out the white pelt of Cloudspeck, the medicine cat, in the darkness. The white she-cat pricked her ears and turned to Mallardstar, dipping her head in greeting. "Welcome, Mallardstar. Here to see the new kits?"

"I am," she replied gently, keeping her distance to make sure that the medicine cats could finish their work. She watched as Cloudspeck sent off Sandpaw, her apprentice, to fetch some borage leaves. After receiving the signal, Mallardstar slowly stepped forward, careful not to step on Falconstreak or any of her young kittens. At the very back of the den was Breezewind, a gray-brown she-cat. Mallardstar had never known Breezewind well, other than knowing that she was Snakestripe's sister, and that she had a pleasant personality. Mallardstar and Boulderstar paired her with Adderthroat, a KarstClan warrior, and she could see him in the dark tabby she-kit suckling at her belly.

Breezewind raised her head up rather slowly, clearly exhausted from birth. Nevertheless, she bowed her head in a respectful gesture and her eyes gleamed with the warmth and affection present in every mother's gaze. "Hello, Mallardstar. Would you like to meet my kits?" she asked in a sleepy voice. She moved her tail to motion to each of the kit's, starting with the dark tabby. "This she-kit is Russetkit, and the other she-kit is Minnowkit," she mewed, pointing to the small gray kit beside her. Finally, Breezewind motioned to the third and smallest kit, a tom. Mallardstar's tail twitched. Toms were the opponents to she-cats, unlike them in so many forms. This tom, like all those before him, would eventually be sent to KarstClan to spend his life with the other "dogs," as the she-cats called them. But this tom was only a kit, just as helpless and innocent as his sisters. "The tom-kit is Ferretkit, named after his pelt," Breezewind announced.

"Congratulations, Breezewind. They will all become valuable warriors someday," Mallardstar purred. Of course, the statement was mostly aimed at the she-kits, who would stay permanently in DeltaClan for the remainder of their lives. Surely the tom-kit would become a good warrior, too, in KarstClan. However, Mallardstar couldn't help but grimace at the tom-kit's small size. Knowing how moronic and battle-oriented toms were, she worried that the kit might be mistreated in KarstClan for being the runt of the litter. Sadly, there was nothing she could do to help. _I can't help it if toms are too idiotic to appreciate all the qualities of a cat, not just their size and strength. Truly, they are nothing but warmongers - no, war_mongrels.

Mallardstar retired to her den that night, exhausted from the day's adventures. She was still upset about not being able to catch that fish, and not even noticing the presence of another clanmate. But none of those compared to what Snakestripe had said earlier about the prospect of Mallardstar's descendants. How selfish she was to not want kits, and how foolish she was to have not had any yet! She could feel Boulderstar beginning to pressure her for kits, but she didn't like any of it - mating, bearing kits, all of it. The idea sickened her, honestly. But she knew that an attitude like that wasn't acceptable in clans focused around the bearing of future generations. _Sometimes I feel as if I'm not ready to be a leader. Did Sunstar make the right choice in choosing me to become her deputy? Oh Sunstar, if you can hear me now, I'm so sorry. I feel like I'm failing you and the rest of DeltaClan._

She stared at the water outside of her den, practically feeling the water-dwelling tree of her home floating in the water. She could see the land from here and all the land-based dens. She hoped that the queens were sleeping well that night, and the new kittens weren't giving any of them trouble. For some reason, she couldn't take her mind off of Breezewind's youngest kitten, Ferretkit. He seemed so small and frail, everything unlike the battle-hungry cat he would later be. She wanted to think that would be the kit's fate, but when she looked at him in the nursery, she couldn't find any trace of future aggression. Sure, he was only an hour old, but he seemed too...different.

And while "different" was a word that the cat would later come to hate, it was a word that would summarize young Ferretkit's life.


	3. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all the great reviews I've been getting so far! You guys are what inspires me to continue writing the story, so thanks!**

**Aeran M. Calhoun - Thanks! It's definitely a topic that I feel needs to be addressed more. And yes, Mallardstar is asexual, which is a topic that'll be explored later on in the story. :)**

It was nearly sunhigh in the DeltaClan camp, and already the last droplets of morning dew had been evaporated away by the sun, which had scorched the canyons dry and made the earth practically too hot to touch. Fortunately, due to DeltaClan's prime location along the Great River, they were offered some relief from the terrible weather. By now the morning patrols had left the camp to re-mark the territory and the hunting patrols were beginning to fish upstream, for work must be done no matter what the conditions. This left the camp primarily empty of able-bodied cats, minus Cloudspeck and Mallardstar.

A little kitten stood on the banks of the stream that divided the camp in two, looking into the clear blue water. The kit had never seen their reflection before, and decided that now was the best time, since their mother had left the nursery for whatever reason. The kitten's fluffy pelt was a cream-gray color with marbled tabby stripes, and their eyes were a plain, ordinary kit-blue (at least, for the time being). Being so young, they couldn't quite make a judgement on their appearance, but they wished that they might have been a little taller, just tall enough to not be trampled by the other kits in the nursery.

Suddenly, there was a sharp squeak from behind them, and the kitten was bowled down into the shallow part of the stream, face planted in the wet earth at the bottom. "Gotcha!" a dark tabby she-kit cheered, bouncing up and down in victory. "Silverkit's right, you really don't pay attention!"

The small kit managed to raise their head out of the water, face dripping and specks of sediment buried into their fur. "Was it really necessary to push me in, though?" the kit asked, their tone clear with annoyance.

"You bet!" the she-kit replied with a grin, kit-blue eyes glinting playfully. "Hey, look at it this way. You can get your pelt groomed by mother again! Oh, speaking of which, she's back with food! Better come inside or you'll go hungry, Ferretkit!" With that, she ran off in the direction of the nursery, plumy tail trailing behind her like a bottlebrush. Ferretkit groaned, trying to shake the moisture off of their pelt. Unfortunately, this caused them to grow even more unsightly, their pelt sticking up like the prickles of a cactus and the bits of dirt clinging onto the wet hairs. Not even could the bright sun dry off their fur quickly, and even then it would still look like a mess. _Stupid Russetkit, _they thought to themself, walking over the earthen den, ears lowered in frustration.

It was complete chaos inside the nursery. Falconstreak's kits were wide awake by now, and they were running around like mad wolves. Tortoisekit was chasing his brother, Stormkit, around the perimeter of the den, and Silverkit was perched on top of one of the rocks that made up the walls, peering down at Frostkit with a devilish grin. "Look out, I'm a vulture!" he cried, leaping down from the rock and falling on top of his white brother, who unfortunately hadn't heard his brother's warning.

"Silverkit, you stop that right now!" came the sharp voice of their mother, Falconstreak. The marbled she-cat had given birth to her four kits just a few days before Breezewind, Ferretkit's mother, and even they could tell that raising the four tom-kits was taking quite a toll on her. The queen's pelt was ruffled with annoyance and her eyes were dim with exhaustion as she struggled to hold a writhing Tortoisekit away from his gray brother, who was hiding behind her pelt.

Ferrerkit kept to the far corner of the nursery, sneaking their way to the back of the den, where their nest was. They preferred to stay away from Falconstreak's kits, who were too rowdy and pushy for their liking. Well, at least Silverkit and Tortoisekit were. Stormkit was the mild-mannered kit of the litter, and Frostkit had a difficult time hearing (Cloudspeck said that white cats with blue eyes had either difficult hearing or were completely deaf), so that meant he didn't cause quite as much trouble as the others. However, he was eager to prove himself to his older brothers, so he usually followed their lead anyway. Finally, they completed the treacherous jorney to their nest where Breezewind sat waiting for them with a small animal in her jaws. Breezewind was a pretty she-cat with long, gray-brown fur and pleasant blue eyes. Falconstreak had told Ferretkit and their siblings that she was a respected warrior in DeltaClan, and they felt proud knowing that their mother was a strong cat. Seeing her kit, her eyes lit up and she set the animal down where Russetkit and Minnowkit, Ferretkit's sister, began sniffing the unfortunate creature. "What's this, Mommy?" Russetkit asked, prodding its fur. "I thought we were gonna have milk?"

"You're not having milk today, kits. We're going to try mouse today," Breezewind replied in a pleasant tone, gently moving the prey toward her kittens as she feverishly cleaned Ferretkit's pelt. Once clean, Ferretkit sniffed the mouse, along with their siblings. They had known about mice and the other prey animals ever since they were old enough to think, and they saw the queens and other cats share meals during evening mealtime. However, they never thought about what it might taste like, and they didn't seem to quite care. After all, what could be better than milk?

As they were thinking this, Russetkit was already taking her first bite, her muzzle stained red as she swallowed the mouse's flesh. "Wow, that's great!" she exclaimed, beginning to wolf down more bits of prey, tail lashing back and forth. Minnowkit, on the other hand, looked as if the half-eaten mouse might come alive and attack her. Minnowkit was the most soft-spoken out of the whole bunch, even more so than Ferretkit. Essentially, she was the complete opposite of her sister, and often times her passiveness had gotten her dragged into trouble with Russetkit. Minnowkit and Ferretkit shared a nod, and they both took their first bite of fresh-kill. The mouse was warm and musty, tasting of the tall grass that grew in the marshlands. The solid food was very different than milk, but Ferretkit thought it was pretty good. Soon, the siblings had finished the mouse and were instructed by their mother to clean their muzzles afterwards. "Hey Momma, why did you give us mouse?" Minnowkit spoke up, her mew barely louder than a whisper.

"Why, you kits are two moons old now, so you're big enough to have fresh-kill. Besides," Breezewind answered, shifting her glance toward Ferretkit, "You'll soon be separated, so you need to be able to rely on other sources for food, and not just me." All three kittens were taken aback by that statement, giving their mother a curious look? Separated? What did she mean? They were only a few moons old, far from being apprentices, so how could they be forced to move somewhere else? _More importantly, why was she looking at me? _Ferretkit thought. What was going to happen to them?

"But why, Momma? We like it here in the nursery, and we all get along with one another!" Russetkit protested.

"Well, I shouldn't say that you'll all be separated," Breezewind replied. Then, she turned her whole head toward Ferretkit, her expression looking as pleasant as always as she prepared to give her next statement. "It'll be Ferretkit that moves out, along with Falconstreak's kits. They'll all live in the other half of camp now, where the tom-kits will be."

Ferretkit was even more confused. Why were they supposed to move out? Did they do something wrong? They liked being with Russetkit and Minnowkit! It seemed that they weren't the only one with this opinion, as Minnowkit looked saddened and Russetkit continued speaking out against the decision. "That's not fair! Just because he's a tom doesn't mean that he's different! He's my brother, and Minnowkit and I want to play with him!" she exclaimed, her long pelt fluffing up as she tried to defend her sibling.

Breezewind seemed prepared for this response. Kits were too young to understand the differences between toms and she-cats, and why it was crucial that they must be separated. By doing this, she was taking away her kits' blood and playmate. But this was the way of the clans, and the underdeveloped minds of kittens were temporarily unable to comprehend it. "But he is, Russetkit. I know you love your brother, and so do I. But he is a tom, and he must not live with she-cats. We are all cats, but our ancestors intended for us to be different. You'll understand that one day," she said without any other emotion other than trainquility in her tone.

Russetkit huffed, looking to the side. "Sandpaw says that StarClan doesn't even talk to us anymore," she growled.

"That's enough of that!" Breezewind scolded, her cheerful facade withering away in seconds. She had never raised her voice before. "Whether you like it or not, Ferretkit and the other tom-kits are scheduled to be moved across the stream tomorrow. I suggest that you all take advantage of this final night together."

Ferretkit felt like crouching low to the ground, shying away from the scoldings of Breezewind and the prospect of the so-called "rules" of the clan. What did they do wrong? For some reason, they were the reason that Russetkit and Minnowkit were upset and the reason that Breezewind had scolded them for the first time. Ferretkit practically felt tears well up in their eyes at the thought of leaving their mother and littermates. They didn't want to leave the nursery just because they were somehow born different.

In fact, how were they born different? Ferretkit looked the same as their littermates, minus the obvious pelt, fur length, and other minor details. They were all cats with pointed ears, tails, and four paws. What could be different between them? What did it mean to be born a tom, as Breezewind had put it? Ferretkit looked at Falconstreak's kits and their sisters, and saw no difference. In that sense, Ferretkit could argue that they didn't feel like a tom at all. But at the same time, they didn't feel like a she-cat, either. Was the world really as black and white as that? Was everything really just a constant divide between tom and she-cat? In their two moons of life, Ferretkit had already seen much of the world. They had seen the little fish swimming through the river, the lizards lounging on the big rocks in the middle of the day, and the hundreds of fireflies lighting up the night skies. The world couldn't be that simple! It had to be greater. Much, much greater. Ferretkit knew they were a part of that world, even if they were small and insignificant. They couldn't be bound by lines - binaries, as they later put it - that determined who they were or what they would do with their lives.

"Momma?" Ferretkit finally asked, splitting the tension. Everything at once went quiet as all eyes went on them. Breezewind looked at them for a moment before plastering on another regular smile, almost as if the previous argument between her and Russetkit had never happened. She nodded at him, her eyes telling him to share whatever what was on his mind. So Ferretkit did, and told their mother and littermates the concluding thought of their little philosophical moment. "What's this about being a tom? I-I don't...feel like a tom," they squeaked.

All three she-cats stared at them for what seemed like moons before erupting in a chorus of humorous purrs. "What are you talking about, Ferretkit?" Russetkit giggled, gently nudging the side of the cream-gray tabby. "Of course you're a tom! Don't be silly!" Breezewind's blue eyes were glimmering with amusement, and even Minnowkit couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

Breezewind stood and gently moved the dark red tabby away from her sibling, licking the tuft of fur on her son's head. "Ferretkit, I know this news must be a little too much for you to handle. I get it, you don't think it's fair to be removed from your sisters. But please, don't be so nonsensical. Trust me, I think I know that you're a tom," she mewed, purring a bit at the last sentence.

"I'm being serious, though! I don't feel like a tom or a she-cat! Why won't you listen to me?" Ferretkit exclaimed, only to have their mouth covered by the thick tail of their mother. They looked at their family and saw that. to their disappointment, they did not believe them. They wanted to keep protesting, to make their family see the seriousness of what they were trying to tell them. Was their opinion so pointless in the whole matter? However, the look in their mother's gaze told them that they were in no position to continue arguing, and that there would be consequences if they did. Kittens must respect their mother, especially kits spewing out such nonsensical words.

"You must be tired after that whole ordeal with the water today," Breezewind mewed, shooting Russetkit a sharp stare out of the corner of her eye. The big she-kit backed away in embarassment, knowing that she had been caught all along. Minnowkit moved to the side, as if trying to avoid being grouped with her sister and receiving some sort of collective punishment. "You need to get some rest, especially since you have a big day tomorrow," she added, returning her attention to her smallest kit. With those parting words, the she-cat left the nursery to get some fresh air, leaving her kits behind.

"But I really don't feel like a tom..." Ferretkit trailed off sadly, watching Breezewind move out of sight.


	4. Chapter 3

**Transluscence - Fixed the error and hopefully the new version of the chapter is up soo sorry about that. But aww, thanks! I'm glad that you like it! The main purpose of the story is to bring awareness to these issues, and it looks like it's working out great so far.**

**lawnsonsog - Ferretkit's gender identity is non-binary, and they identify as pansexual and panromantic (the final part won't be discussed until a little later on).**

**Patato101 - Non-binary means that you don't feel like you fit into any of the two main gender binaries (male or female), or feel like some other gender entirely. In Ferretkit's case, they don't feel like a tom or she-cat.**

**Once again, thanks for all the kind reviews!**

That following morning, Mallardstar returned from the dawn patrol, flanked by Lilyfern, Marshfin, and Geckopaw, Marshfin's apprentice. As usual, there was little controversy regarding the borders, which continued to remain well-marked and heavily scented. The tortoiseshell liked to reason that the mere scent of toms and she-cats were too unbearable for the opposite gender to handle, so they rarely bothered to cross into each other's territories. But knowing the unpredictable nature of toms, she refused to ever let her guard down.

While the two warriors and apprentice left to reward themselves with a relaxing morning meal, Mallardstar began to search for her deputy so that she could share with her the less-than-enthralling report. She eventually found the light brown tabby situated by the river, patching together two round objects with the elders. Though early, the whole camp was buzzing with anticipation, as if something was about to happen. "What's going on here?" she asked casually, approaching the three she-cats.

Snakestripe turned her head to face her, though her paws continued to nimbly weave strands of grass and reeds together to form a lilypad-shaped invention. "Today's the day the tom-kits are being brought to the opposite side of camp," she explained. "They're too small to cross the river alone, so the elders decided to make these little floating pads for them."

Of course, how could she forget? StarClan, she should've known better. It was only the first step the tom-kits would take to transition into a life primarily devoid of she-cats. Obviously, she wouldn't give her sarcastic deputy the satisfaction of her own ignorance, so she simply went along with it. "Brilliant idea. Why, they sort of resemble those odd things twolegs use to swim across the river downstream in the main channel," she commented. Cats tended to avoid the main channel of the river, as it was far too dangerous and wide to cross. However, mentors usually took their apprentices to get a close-up view, in order to teach them to be wary of the water, no matter how essential it was to life in the canyons. DeltaClan knew that especially. One too many mischievous kits in the past had snuck out of camp and drowned in the river, almost as if their usually-silent ancestors decided to take action in the worst of ways. Not only was this an upset to the entire clan, but an upset to the delicate pairing system the two leaders organized.

"That's the point!" Firestorm, one of the elders, rasped. "Those twolegs are onto something, I'll tell you that!" Mallardstar didn't want to give the strange two-legged creatures credit for anything. They always disturbed the fish population when they ventured through the river, and quite frankly, she was fearful of anything that could master the roaring channels with such ease.

Just as Snakestripe and the two elders had finished weaving the floating pads and had set them beside the stream, the first tom-kits bounded out of the nursery, their freshly-groomed fur messing up as they pushed and shoved each other out of the nursery. An angry Falconstreak followed suit, along with her more well-behaving kits. Mallardstar twitched her whiskers, knowing well that the gray tabby queen probably couldn't wait to become a regular warrior again, since her four troublesome kits had all been born toms.

Breezewind, however, would remain in the nursery for another four moons, as she still had two she-kits. That was one of the advantages she-cats had in DeltaClan, being able to stay in the nursery with their mothers for the full six moons of growth before becoming an apprentice. It seemed unfair to separate the tom-kits, especially at only two moons of age, but it was necessary to ease the gradual transition into KarstClan and erase all prior attachment to she-cats. Breezewind left the nursery, practically dragging along her lone tom-kit, Ferretkit. He seemed the most reluctant out of the other tom-kits to leave, and his sisters seemed more than reluctant to see their brother depart.

Mallardstar thought of the day her own brother had been forced to leave the nursery. Marblestripe - then Marblekit - had been her only brother and sibling, but they hadn't been the closest of all littermates. Marblestripe was by far the rowdiest kit in the nursery, and loved to play pranks on his younger sister. He had been a brute since the beginning, so she didn't really mind when he was taken away. It had been moons since then, but she figured that nothing much had changed about him. Her attention was drawn back to Ferretkit, who seemed to be pleading to his mother about something. Breezewind only snarled at him and cut him off, leaving the sad little tabby to say his short, but sorrowful farewells to his sisters. The bond between the three kits was something that Mallardstar hadn't seen before, and for that it dangerous. Romantic, platonic, and even familial bonds between the sexes was strictly forbidden under the Warrior Code; either one resulted in severe punishment, banishment, or - in the most extreme of cases - death.

Once all the tom-kits had gathered and said their goodbyes, Mallardstar took that as a cue to climb the River Rock, a large boulder situated at the widest part of the stream, to make her announcement to the gathered cats. She remembered when Sunstar had made the same announcement from here, and for a moment she felt pained at the memory of her former leader. She soon shrugged off the thought, telling herself it was irrelevant to the current event. "Tom-kits," she began, her voice moving clearly through the stagnant, warm air. "Today is the first step toward the rest of your lives. Starting now, you will all make your home in the reed beds adjacent to the main section of the camp. This will begin the gradual process of your transition to a life without she-cats, which is what you will face in four moons when you are to join KarstClan and become apprenticed." She had purposely avoided mentioning that the tom-kits were of DeltaClan like she would when addressing her other clanmates. DeltaClan was merely a temporary home for the tom-kits while they learned the basic necessary life functions. They would eventually leave, meaning that they weren't quite DeltaClan cats, and they never would be.

"Now, this is not to say that you won't be alone. You will be watched over by Cloudspeck, the medicine cat, for her den is also across the stream. You are to obey her and follow her rules, for the time being. Meeting dismissed," she mewed. With a flick of her tail, she leaped down the rock and helped the queens move their kits onto the floating pads. Silverkit and Tortoisekit, as usual, were eager to try out something new and flung themselves into the raft, almost knocking down the reinforced woven walls. Grabbing Tortoisekit's dark scruff beneath her teeth, she helped the troubled Falconstreak move them into a proper position inside the raft. The kit wiggled in her jaws, kicking and flailing his paws, almost catching her in the nose. _How does Falconstreak manage these two? _she thought.

Next came Frostkit and Stormkit, who put up less of a fight than their brothers. Mallardstar found that the first floating pad couldn't hold the weight of more than three kits, so she set Stormkit in the second raft. The last kit of the bunch was Ferretkit, who was being carried by his mother into the second raft. His tiny expression was filled with pain and he shied away from everyone else, almost as if he were too uncomfortable to be grouped together with any of them. Finally, with a gentle push, the rafts floated across the calm stream. They all watched the kits reach the other side of the stream, and then left once they reached the other bank, almost as if none of this had happened. Only the two remaining she-kits lingered there, their sad gazes trailing after their brother before they were called into the nursery.

Mallardstar returned to her den, but not before grabbing a crappie that had been caught by the morning hunting patrol. She had been enjoying her meal in her den when she heard a splash in the water outside, picking up the scent of a familiar cat. "Mallardstar, may I have a word with you?" came the voice of Breezewind.

She set aside her fish and quickly groomed her muzzle, telling her to come in. She didn't know what Breezewind thought was so urgent that it needed attention from the leader, but Mallardstar never refused to converse with a clanmate, whatever the purpose might be. The gray-brown she-cat climbed the thick tree roots of her den, sliding inside the hollow space and dipping her head in respect. "What's the matter?" the tortoiseshell leader asked.

"It's about Ferretkit, my son," the queen replied. Mallardstar could see that her eyes were troubled, but didn't know why they would be. What was wrong with a healthy, seemingly-normal kit that could cause such a worried look? He had seemed more than reluctant to part with the other tom-kits, but Mallardstar figured that it was only due to an uncommon bond between littermates of opposite genders, something only a few moons of isolation would be able to fix.

"He's been saying some...weird things lately," Breezewind began, not sure how to put it into words. "In fact, he doesn't even want to be called by 'he.' I don't know why, but that's what he keeps telling me."

"What?" Mallardstar mewed, cocking her head to the side. "Doesn't want to be called a 'he?' Are you sure this is something serious, Breezewind, and not some meaningless little kit thing?" How could a cat not want to be referred to by what they were? That seemed unimaginable to her. There's no way a two-moon old kit could be serious about something so nonsensical.

"I know that it sounds hard to believe, and I know that he's a foolish tom, but I'm serious!" the queen exclaimed. "I thought the same at first, too, but he's persistent on the idea that he isn't a tom or a she-cat! He's much more mature than most kits his age, granted, so I was almost disappointed to hear something like this come out of him. But I can't help but think he's serious about it, too."

Mallardstar thought for a moment. Breezewind was an intelligent and respected warrior, so Mallardstar knew that she couldn't be lying. But still, it was so hard to believe. How could you not be either gender? Nature itself was comprised of gender! Every bird in the sky, mouse in the grass, or fish in the river had a gender. The only thing that didn't, to her imagination, were plants or rocks, and Ferretkit definitely wasn't a non-sentient object. It was too weird to be true.

_And being disgusted at the thought of taking a mate and having kits isn't? _came a voice in her head. She stopped for a moment, reflecting on those words. That, too, was something unnatural itself. The only reason that life continued to exist was through reproduction, making it essential for all life. _Procreation is one of the basic marks of life, so refusing to mate and bear offspring practically makes you lifeless yourself. So is that really different than identifying as neither gender, in that sense? _She dwelled a little more on this topic, perhaps too long for her liking. Was it true that Ferretkit felt just as she did all those moons ago when she had been paired with Boulderstar? Appalled, uncomfortable, and helpless, knowing that this wasn't what she wanted with everything she had?

She remembered that awful moment in her past, how she screamed inside when the arrogant gray tom sauntered up to her and how Sunstar's amber eyes shone with warmth at her former apprentice's seemingly wonderful ceremony, when in reality it was the most horrifying moment in her entire life. The prospect of having to share her body with someone made her more uncomfortable than anything else. Sure, she could buy time by choosing not to bear kits immediately, but she knew that at some point she would have to perform her "natural duties," as the other cats liked to put it. It also didn't help that she had been paired with Boulderfall, the most vile tom in all of KarstClan, one rumored to have an exceptionally low opinion of she-cats. She hated that fox-heart from the moment her blue eyes met with his gray ones, and she would've loved more than anything to claw the smug grin off of his putrid flat face. But no, doing that would result in banishment, or even execution. Even worse, it could create unnecessary violence between the two clans, and who knows what would happen then? She would have to keep silent and remain courteous in the presence of her so-called "mate" until the breeding season had finished, and then she wouldn't have to worry about him for another year.

"You're right, it does seem...odd. I've never heard of such a thing before," Mallardstar quickly mewed so that she wouldn't seem awkward. "However, there's nothing that we can do about it. If Ferretkit is serious about this whole thing, we're practically helpless. You can't change a cat's mind, but only hope that they'll eventually grow out of that mindset, or manage to live their lives repressing it." She was being honest. No amount of scoldings or force could change a cat's mind, and if Ferretkit was truly serious about this whole gender thing, she could only hope that he - they, or whatever title worked - wouldn't let it impact the rest of their life negatively.

"But you see, that's what I'm even more worried about!" Breezewind replied, her tone growing more concerned as she continued to discuss her kit. "She-cats might be able to tolerate this phase, or whatever he's going through, but what about the toms? If Ferretkit continues to act this way, he'll be the laughing stock of KarstClan, and StarClan knows what they'll do to him! You can't trust toms, especially when it comes to...delicate matters, such as these." Delicate matters indeed, these sort of things were. Toms never seemed to much concern for "odd" cats, and preferred to rid them out of their society using very hostile methods. The queen turned her head to the side, her blue eyes clouded with worry. "I admit that even though I'm weirded out by this whole thing, I still love him. He's my kit, after all. I would never mistreat him, even if he is a little messed up in the brain. But his father, on the other hand..." Breezewind trailed off, grimacing a little at the end.

Mallardstar shared her fear at the mention of the dark tabby. Adderthroat was a powerful warrior that was known for his strong opinion. He was careless and rash, contrasting perfectly with Breezewind's caring and generally easy-going nature. That was why the two leaders paired them together, after all. _Just like you and Boulderstar, _the voice added. She didn't want to know how Adderthroat would react to his...odd son, or what any of the other moronic toms would do him. Naturally, all cats never had much of a relationship with their fathers, if any at all, but the scorn that Ferretkit would receive from his father would be traumatic to the kit.

She had felt for the gray-and-cream tabby now more than ever. By this point she refused to hold Ferretkit to the usual tom standards, and saw them as she would see any she-cat. No, any other cat. Mallardstar predicted that Ferretkit would lead quite an interesting life, and she wouldn't be quite surprised to learn that this would be the case. She could not offer any help to Breezewind, no matter how much she wanted to. _So much for being the inspirational leader of the clan_, she thought. "I'm sorry Breezewind, but I only have so much power. We can't keep Ferretkit here forever, and soon...he'll be forced to leave the clan. All we can do right now is to hope that this little thing of his will disappear within the next four moons, or hope that he learns to keep it in his head," she mewed sadly.

Breezewind didn't reply, but the nod of her head told her that she agreed. "Thank you anyways, Mallardstar," the she-cat finally said before dipping her head in farewell and retreating back into the water outside the floating den.

Truly, this was a sticky situation. Mallardstar hoped that this was a kit phase, and the odds of it were pretty high. But the prospect of Ferretkit being truthful about their identity (would she use 'they' now?) was still plausible, as all things were. She looked up, hoping to see the sky, but instead found the worn-out roof of her tree den. The only time that the clans had heard from StarClan was when the leaders received their nine lives, and even then they were pretty quiet. Were they watching over her now, or were they just choosing to ignore the clans once more? _Are you watching over us now, StarClan? Is Sunstar there, or Feathertuft, or Reedstalk? If you are, please help us. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ferretkit is telling the truth, and there is nothing that I can do about it. But if not me, then who? Please give me the guidance to help in whatever ways I can. Feathertuft, was I this way too when I was a kit? Confused by the way of life even though I knew I had to do what was expected of me? Will this kit suffer my fate and be silenced by our traditions, or will h-they receive the help they need? _

She didn't know if StarClan would listen to her prayer, or if they had received it at all. They were silent to the point of frustration, and Mallardstar had no idea why. What had they done to upset their ancestors? They obviously couldn't have done much, if they had been allowed to thrive for so many moons. She decided to sleep on this thought, her dreams too confusing and odd to describe in words. She wondered if things were the same in the tom-kit's den. More importantly, how long would they be?


	5. Chapter 4

**lawsonsog - Ferretkit will remain non-binary when they grow up, choosing not to identify as either male or female.**

**Transluscence - Thank you so much! We'll definitely be seeing a bond form between Mallardstar and Ferretkit as the story progresses. During that one scene you mentioned, "she" was used to address Mallardstar when she was thinking about what pronoun she'd use when talking about Ferretkit. And yeah, Breezewind will definitely be one of the more likable characters of the series. She's primarily concerned about Ferretkit's safety, even if she still isn't sure whether their whole gender identity thing is a phase or not. **

**I was definitely considering those options, but after taking a good look at Ferretkit, I think they'll just be panromantic & pansexual. On a similar note, yes, Mallardstar is also aromantic.**

**Mooneyes of Moorclan - Thanks! And are you talking about submitting files? If you could explain a bit more that'd be great lol.**

**walterpoototherescue - I'm glad that you're enjoying the story, along with the other readers! I never expected this story to get such positive attention.**

**blueskydog - Agreed! The whole point of the story is to bring awareness to the different sexual/romantic/gender orientations that a person can be. The cats are just a way to project that message. As for your question, DeltaClan and KarstClan are structured around heteronormativity, but as we've seen from Mallardstar and Ferretkit, there's definitely cats that will identify as something different, though they choose to hide it. You'll see a big one come up later. :)**

**ScipioPB - They are, and that'll be the main foundation of their eventual friendship. **

**Moonbeam141 - From all the great and accepting reviews I've been getting so far, I think that might be the case. Reviewers have told me how they're able to identify with Ferretkit and that they're so happy that they found a story that speaks to them, and I couldn't be happier. **

Lately their dreams had been a befuddlement, a mess of unrecognizable figures and sensations that the young kit couldn't describe in words. They all seemed to take place in the same gray clearing dotted with dark, round objects and tall shadows that, during a particularly clear dream, they could recognize as rocks and marsh grass. All of these dreams went about in the same fashion, with dozens of gray shadows moving out from the grass and behind the rocks, edging closer to the young kit and peering at them with white, blurry eyes. Recently, the small tabby believed that these beings, whatever they might be, were attempting to communicate with them. Unfortunately, however much they strained their ears, the kitten could hear nothing but obscure, unintelligible mews that could not be interpreted.

"Ferretkit, I asked you if you were alright!" came a rough voice that ended the kit's dream just as quickly as it had begun. The white eyes that Ferretkit saw in their dream had been replaced by golden ones, and at once they recognized the towering figure of Sandpaw, Cloudspeck's apprentice. DeltaClan's medicine cat apprentice was a special one. Hardly the image of the typical kind and nurturing healer, she was a sharp-tongued tabby with a temperamental nature and an endless supply of sarcasm. This drove her mentor, the virtuous and tolerable Cloudspeck, to no end, but everyone else had long since adapted to her non-conventional humor. She appeared to be in an especially sour mood today, judging from her disgruntled expression and the lack of fur on her tail. Ferretkit wasn't sure if they wanted to implore her about it.

"S-Sorry, I had...a bad dream," the kit mewed, sniffling their nose. They weren't exactly lying, because there really wasn't a way to tell whether or not these dreams were good or bad. They probably didn't mean anything anyway, since they had no idea what was happening in any of them.

The she-cat huffed, dropping a few small white flowers in front of them. "I brought you some feverfew to help with that little cold of yours. Make sure you eat them up and rest so you won't be cooped up in here forever," she mewed. "I bet your denmates can't _wait _to play with you," she added with a smirk before turning to leave the den, purposely giving them a clear glimpse of her battered tail. Ferretkit tried to hold back a laugh as they watched Sandpaw leap into the stream to swim across camp, the end of her tail as pink as a newborn kit. The tabby chewed up the small flowers, relieved that they weren't as bitter as some of the other herbs that they had been forced to take. These past two moons were supposed to be the golden age of kithood, full of play and laughter. For Ferretkit, they had been anything but. They had been sick nearly the whole time, forced to spend much of their days in Cloudspeck's den, much to their (and Sandpaw's) chagrin. The tawny apprentice was eager to move Ferretkit out of the medicine cat's den, for she had grown tired of all the tom-kits within the first few days of their arrival and wasn't quite fond of being used as their hunting practice.

There was a small puddle in the corner of the worn tree den, providing some coolness in the middle of the warm season. Ferretkit looked in the water often to see how they were growing, wondering if they would ever stop being so small. Unfortunately, they hadn't grown much in height, but their eyes had finally changed colors. Instead of a bland kit-blue, Ferretkit's eyes had turned a light shade of amber, which seemed to go along well with their cream-and-gray pelt. Ferretkit wondered what eye colors Russetkit and Minnowkit had. Were they blue like Breezewind's, or amber like theirs? On that note, what eyes did their father have?

The more they thought about their family, the more Ferretkit missed them. They missed getting into trouble with Russetkit, enjoying the scenery of the camp with Minnowkit, and spending time curled up around Breezewind, even if she did try and deny what they felt. Toms and she-cats weren't allowed to have contact with one another, and since Ferretkit had been grouped together with the toms, they could only sit and watch their sisters play across camp, mere red and gray figures in the distance. They seemed to act as if Ferretkit hadn't even existed, playing games with the apprentices and rarely bothering to glance across the stream. _I hate these rules sometimes,_ Ferretkit thought to themself. They weren't a tom, so why should they be grouped together with them? But they weren't a she-cat either, so they weren't sure what to think. _In fact, I don't seem to like these labels either._

They heard someone approach the den, and turned to find Silverkit standing at the entrance. "Hey, get up. We need you for something," the silver kit grunted, motioning with his thin tail.

Ferretkit blinked their eyes, confused. None of the other four kits had ever talked to them before, and they had no idea why they suddenly would now, when Ferretkit was sick in the medicine cat's den. "Sandpaw just gave me medicine and told me to rest, so I don't think she'd want me to do something active," they said slowly.

"Pah!" the older tom hissed. "You're sick all the time! Come on Ferretkit, don't you wanna do something with your life? Get out of here or I'll make you! We need all the help we can get!" Ferretkit cringed at the kit's harsh words, not wanting to disobey Sandpaw's orders. But on the other hand, they didn't want to get on the wrong side of their permanent clanmates, so they forced themself to follow the silver tom outside. Maybe the fresh air would be good for them, after all.

Outside, all of the tom-kits had gathered at the bank of the stream, standing by one of the floating pads that had carried them to their current dens a few moons ago, along with a second one. Ferretkit stood at the back of the small crowd, next to a dark gray tom. They all watched with wide eyes as Silverkit climbed a mound of mud in front of them, his amber eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Who made you leader?" Ferretkit heard the tom beside them mutter.

"Alright everyone, listen up! The she-cats have declared war on us, so we have to strike back!" he cried. _The she-cats? Aren't they across the stream? _Ferretkit thought, looking around the bodies of the kits in front of them. Sure enough, there were a group of small cats on the other side of the wide expanse of water, holding on to three similar pads, each larger than their two. Five cats were gathered, including Ferretkit's two sisters. Russetkit was bouncing up and down, sticking her tongue out at the toms while Minnowkit and three apprentices were finishing up the final touches on the rafts.

"No fair, they have three rafts!" Tortoisekit complained, his dark fur fluffing up. The toms watched as the she-cats took to their rafts, reading to push off from the edge of the land. Minnowkit and Shadowpaw fit into the first raft while Russetkit and Geckopaw squeezed into the second, leaving Frogpaw to man the third raft by herself. They all glared at the tom-kits, each with one hind leg planted firmly on the ground to move their rafts into the water.

Silverkit growled at the sheer confidence of the she-cats, amber eyes blazing as he commanded the tom-kits to take to the rafts. "All toms, to me! Tortoisekit and Stormkit will go to the first raft while Frostkit, Ferretkit, and me will take the bigger one! This is war, toms!" he squealed, leaping off of the mound and storming off to the rafts, along with Ferretkit and the others. Silverkit and Frostkit were already in the raft by the time Ferretkit had squeezed in. "Alright pipsqueak, listen up!" Silverkit mewed to them. "Frostkit and I are obviously the stronger ones, so we'll be attacking the enemy rafts while you move us around! Whichever side has all of their rafts sink loses!"

Back on the mainland, a few cats had gathered around to watch (mainly to oversee) the sudden event. "Do you think this is entirely safe?" Breezewind asked Sheepfur and Marshfin, padding up to the two she-cats. Obviously making kittens attack each other in unstable rafts in the middle of a stream wasn't the safest playtime activity, right?

"Please, let them," came the sarcastic voice of Sandpaw, who was padding across the camp. "This is the most exciting thing we've had in moons." Even Mallardstar and Snakestripe had come to watch the water battle, standing near the base of the River Rock.

With a yowl, the two sides pushed off the banks and slowly entered the stream, propelled only by the currents and a set of paws. Silverkit, being the leader of the toms, had to lead their rafts into battle, so he constantly kept yowling at Ferretkit to move them faster. "Faster, Snailkit! Frostkit, get ready to splash at any moment! Wait, did you even hear that? Oh, nevermind. Tortoisekit, make sure they don't surround us! They're using their numbers to their advantage, so we need to make sure they can't bunch us together!" he commanded as if he were the leader of the clan himself. _Yes, oh mighty Silverstar, _Ferretkit thought as they feverishly pushed the water away with their forepaws as quickly as they could, trying to make the raft gain momentum.

As Silverkit predicted, the three she-cat rafts split off in opposite directions in attempt to surround the two enemy rafts. The center raft, led by Russetkit and Geckopaw, was speeding toward Silverkit's raft. "Fire!" the competitive Russetkit exclaimed with a battle-hungry expression, using her forepaws to send splashes of water at their raft.

"Go left! Left!" Silverkit hissed at Ferretkit as a few drops of water landed in their raft. Ferretkit did as he said and moved to the center left side of the raft, pushing the water toward them. _StarClan, what did I get myself into? _they groaned to themself, frantically moving them away from the Russetkit's raft. During that time, they managed to catch a quick glimpse of what else was happening. Tortoisekit's raft were managing themselves efficiently against Frogleap's raft, both kits sending repeated blasts of water at Frogleap, who struggled to match their strikes. Then, to every cat's surprise, Tortoisekit and Stormkit managed to create enough synchronized force that they sent a small wave toward Frogleap's raft, just enough to knock the mottled tabby off her paws and fall onto one side of the raft, causing her weight to flip the entire raft over.

The two kits cheered in victory, bouncing around the raft in happiness. Ferretkit felt ecstatic, as did Silverkit and Frostkit. Now both sides had an equal number of rafts! Motivated by their small, yet monumental victory against the she-cats, Ferretkit let their paws move through the water as quickly as the rapids, propelling them right toward Russetkit's raft to engage in close combat. They heard Tortoisekit's raft come from behind to aid them in the final attack, and for a second, Ferretkit felt that they would win the battle.

But only for a second. Suddenly, Ferretkit realized that they hadn't seen the third she-cat raft the whole time. Perhaps thinking of it was bad luck, because right at that moment, the third raft seemed to come out of nowhere and move toward Tortoisekit's raft with a speed that they couldn't dream of achieving. Minnowkit's barely-visible paws whirled through the water while Shadowpaw stood at the head of the raft like an ominous vulture, waiting to make the kill. Tortoisekit and Stormkit hadn't noticed the approaching raft, and paid for their obliviousness by being slammed out of the boat by a deluge of water sent from the strong paws of Shadowpaw. The she-cat's eyes burned like fire, and her pitch-black pelt was spotless, not even touched by one drop of water. The remaining tom-kits stared at the third raft in horror, all hopes of winning the battle disappearing beneath the surface. Minnowkit stared out from behind the still black she-cat, her light blue eyes shining apologetically.

While Silverkit and Frostkit screeched in horror, Ferretkit paddled like never before, trying to get away from the deadly pair of Shadowpaw and Minnowkit. Unfortunately, this sent them right into the paws of Russetkit and Geckopaw, who began to shower them with splashes of water. "Take that, smelly toms!" Russetkit exclaimed, her yellow eyes glinting with triumph as she splashed her sibling in the face. Ferretkit stopped propelling their raft and splashed the red tabby back in a somewhat playful matter, their own eyes shining. Russetkit stopped for a moment, staring at her sibling. She cocked her head to the side, looking at them another moment longer before she squealed and splashed them back. In that moment, it seemed like the two littermates hadn't ever spent those two moons apart and were playing again just any other siblings would. In that moment, those dumb rules separating them had disappeared, and they were two typical littermates once more. Gender didn't matter, and neither did anything else.

"Look out, Ferretkit!" Silverkit's voice broke in, followed by a large shadow that covered entire tom-kit raft. Ferretkit had a bad feeling about this, and wasn't sure whether or not to look around. They did anyway, even though it really wouldn't have mattered at that point. A big wave, generated by the bouncing motion of Minnowkit and Shadowpaw's raft, swamped the tom-kit raft, sending the kits beneath the surface of the river. Ferretkit's mouth and ears filled with water as they flailed their paws, struggling to swim back up to the surface. They felt something bump into their bottom, and looked down to see the raft rising to the surface, taking Ferretkit along with it. The kit rose to the surface, coughing up water and holding on to the woven material of the raft with their tiny, sharp claws. Their pelt was sogging wet, and they could swear that they heard the worried meow of their mother.

So it was that the she-kits won the water battle, and the tom-kits were taken back to their dens, but not before receiving an earful from Russetkit about how she-cats had "naturally" prevailed over toms. Ferretkit in particular had also received some choice words from Sandpaw, who scowled at them for leaving the medicine cat's den and making their cold even worse by falling into the stream. Thus, Ferretkit was confined to the medicine cat's den for another week until they were well again. That night, a frustrated Ferretkit escaped the boring confines of the medicine cat's den and took a walk around the tom section of the camp, thankful to be out in the fresh air. The air was pleasantly cool, a light breeze rolling off of the canyons in the distance. They could hear the hoot of an owl in a tree a little ways off, along with the faint buzzing of insects that crawled and flew around the swamps at night.

Suddenly, Ferretkit heard a set of shuffling paws behind them, and they found themselves pushed to the ground nearly a second later. They tried to get up, but stopped as they saw the figures of three kits looming over him, their eyes glinting like chips of ice in the darkness. "What're you doing out alone, _Snailkit? _Aren't you too sick and weak to be out of Cloudspeck's den?" came the familiar voice of Silverkit. Under normal circumstances, the tabby wouldn't have feared the older kit, but now the silver tom and his gang of littermates looked more threatening than ever. Though they were five moons old, they had long limbs and bodies that dwarfed the particularly small four moon-old kit in comparison.

"I just wanted to take a walk," Ferretkit replied, feeling the blood in their veins course with fear. "What did you do that for?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Snailkit," Silverkit hissed, thrusting his sleek muzzle in front of their own. "You know why I'm upset. Because of you, we lost the battle with the she-cats. Now we're the whole laughing stock of the clan, only because you wanted to play with your little sister. What kind of tom are you?"

What kind of tom were they? That was a question with a difficult, yet simplistic answer. Ferretkit wasn't any kind of tom, nor any kind of she-cat. Ferretkit didn't feel like either of the genders. Shouldn't they just tell him that? "I'm not, really. I'm not a tom or a she-kit," they admitted.

Maybe, just maybe, Silverkit could understand. It was always a possibility, right? Anything was possible. Ferretkit wasn't fond of Silverkit, but that didn't mean that they thought the tom was an idiot. If he could organize an entire stream attack against a group of cats, then surely he could understand this? Silverkit laughed, along with his brothers. It was just like Breezewind and their littermates, only this time, these cats had a more...malevolent look in their eyes. "Come on Snailkit, you can't be serious. Maybe this whole sick thing has gone to your head. That's nonsense! You're a tom!" he laughed.

"I'm not!" Ferretkit protested, gathering enough courage to stand on their paws. They were tired of everyone thinking that they weren't serious about this. How could they not be serious about an issue as heavy as identity? "I don't feel like a tom at all, or a she-cat, or anything! I don't feel like those labels...fit me." It was only after they said this did they realize the gravity of their words. They wanted to get this off of their chest, but didn't think at all about what three older, stronger cats in the middle of the night would think about it.

Silverkit stared at Ferretkit. Was this cat seriously for real? Ferretkit never seemed to be the type to lie, but this was too unreal. In Silverkit's eyes, someone denying their gender was a whole new level of stupid, and he didn't like stupid cats. Not to mention, Ferretkit was small and weak. That was more than enough of a reason to despite the gray tabby, but this..._thing's _seriousness about denying something like gender set him off. "Forget Snailkit," he finally mewed. "You're more like _Freakkit!"_

Tortoisekit and Frostkit laughed, as if this were the greatest piece of humor they had heard in their short lives. As they chanted the new name, Silverkit unsheathed his claws. Growing up with four brothers in a clan that seemed to despise toms, he knew that only the strong and smart survived in the world. A weak and dumb cat like this deserved to be punished for these actions and be taught how to survive.

Ferretkit's eyes were as round as moons as they cowered in place, unable to move. How could they? They were one small and sick cat against three strong, able-bodied cats. What good would running do? The other kits would catch up to them and beat them up anyhow, so there was no use. Just as Silverkit and his brothers were about to pounce, a mound of dark gray fur raced from behind the brothers and leapt in front of Ferretkit, blocking them from the would-be assailants. "Leave him alone!" Stormkit hissed, baring his small white teeth.

Silverkit stopped himself from leaping at his brother just in time, giving the blue-gray tom an incredulous look. "Stormkit? What are you doing? Are you thinking of defending the freak?" he asked.

Stormkit huffed, moving into a normal stance, still firm enough where he could size up his brother. "I'm not," he answered in a curt voice. "I'm here to cut the racket. I heard you talking about how toms are mistreated in DeltaClan. Do you honestly think three toms beating up a sick cat helps improve our reputation around here?"

Silverkit blinked at his brother. He wasn't stupid, and he seriously considered his brother's words. Perhaps he could let this slide, just once. "You're in luck, Freakkit. Thanks to my brother, you've earned yourself another safe night," Silverkit growled, giving the two cats one last look before stalking back to the den. Tortoisekit and Frostkit followed suit, trailing behind their older brother like ducklings.

Ferretkit lay close to the ground, their heart caught in their throat as they looked at Stormkit. The blue-gray tom hadn't spoken to them before, nor had he taken part in the troublesome antics of his brothers. He looked back at Ferretkit and nodded, his blue eyes dark as he turned and bounded away to the tom-kit's den, leaving Ferretkit to wonder why Stormkit had stood up for them, and why he had done so now. They felt sick in their stomach, shivering against the breeze that had suddenly turned quite cold. How could Ferretkit survive another two moons with these cats? How would they survive the rest of their lives with these cats? Was it true when Breezewind said that all toms were like this, resorting to violence when they didn't understand something or someone? They hoped it wasn't true, and they hoped that, in two moons time, they would find that none of the toms in KarstClan acted this way. But if they did, would Ferretkit have to spend their life hiding who they truly were, just so they would avoid being persecuted? They were lucky that Stormkit had stepped in when he did. If he hadn't, Ferretkit would've had to make up a story of falling into a thorn bush, and StarClan knows what would've happened then. _StarClan, if you're listening at all, please give me guidance. _

**Aaand that's a tiny cliffnote that I'm leaving you all on for a while. Tomorrow I'm leaving for my grandmother's house where I'll be spending some time, so don't expect a new chapter for a little bit. But I promise that when I come back, I'll have a great chapter for you all to read. Hint: Mallardstar! (Because we can't get enough of her)**


	6. Chapter 5

**I'm back everyone! I hope you all had fun over the holidays. I've had a lot of time to think about the story over these past few days, and I can't wait to get back to writing (well, technically typing). By the way, Carmilla is a great show.**

**lawsonsog - There's definitely been cats in the past that haven't fit the "norm," but they've repressed their feelings as to not stir up any trouble. Ferretkit is just the first one to vocalize it. And no, the two clans like to avoid conflict for that reason alone. But it's still important to check the boundaries every now and then, because you never know what might happen.**

**Mooneyes of Moorclan - Cool! I'll be sure to check it out.**

**Transluscence - That's fine! And yes, it's great getting to explore the characters and all. It's especially fun to write them and see what I can do with them. And for that last bit, I've seen some online Warriors groups dealing with similar topics, but it would be great to have more.**

**ScipioPB - Another cat added to the good list! And I loved the water battle scene. I mean, what kittens living in a water-based clan wouldn't do that?**

**blueskydog - That's the purpose of the hate-filled scenes, to bring awareness of what happens in the real world. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning for poor Ferretkit.**

****Also, I'm going to be changing Breezewind's name since it's beginning to tick me off lol. Any suggestions?****

A pair of eyes anxiously focused on the shapes swimming beneath the surface of the river, waiting for one to foolishly swim too close to the bank. Big and small fish swam along with the currents without pause, never daring to stop and rest. Weren't they exhausted? The patient predator never understood it, but she didn't have to. All she needed to know was that the one carp swimming dangerously close to the soft bank looked exceptionally delicious. With a well-timed strike, she hooked the gray-yellow fish with her claws and held it down on the sediment, giving it a quick bite to the head. She held the fish in her jaws and triumphantly raised her head, only to find that her second-in-command had a much larger fish in her jaws. The two she-cats had a stare off lasting for a few heart-beats before the first cat grunted. "Shut up," she grumbled beneath fish.

By now Mallardstar and Snakestripe had developed a language used when their mouths were full of prey. The two friends could make out all of their muffled words with ease, meaning that the laborous journey through the thick, dark swamp wasn't a silent one. "You shouldn't have been hunting with that paw," Snakestripe mumbled, navigating her way through the tall water-dwelling plants as the two she-cats swam through the deeper parts of the territory, heads held high above the water and tails sticking straight out.

"A leader must not be hindered by the smallest of things," the proud tortoiseshell replied, swimming hard with her three good legs. She knew Snakestripe would've given her a sharp reply if she wasn't struggling with the large carp in her jaws. It already took enough effort out of her to give the first comment. Mallardstar huffed, wondering what Snakestripe would've done if she had met her first crazed wild turkey. _I'm sure you would've been tripping over your paws, too! Don't act so high-and-mighty, _she thought with an indignant whip of her tail in the water.

They were thankful to be eventually out of the swamp, since they could have a quick rest before making the final stretch across land. They didn't bother to dry out their pelts; there were still plenty of plants to go through that would snag their fur, so why clean them when they would just get messy again?. Mallardstar tried to ease the pressure on her right paw by holding it slightly above the ground. That probably wasn't the best idea, investigating the strange gobbling noises and tracks in the dirt. It wasn't a great idea to do that alone, either. Now Snakestripe wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

"I'll admit that Cloudspeck said you would be alright after two days, but Sandpaw was right in that you shouldn't have went hunting with me," Snakestripe mewed, licking her paw and swiping it over her dark ears.

"And you didn't side with her?" Mallardstar challenged.

"What could I have done? I can't stop you from hurting yourself," she replied with a light purr. "That's what Sandpaw meant to say, too."

Mallardstar sighed, flicking her ear at her deputy. "She's your daughter," she grumbled, picking up the carp in her jaws after she felt well-rested enough to make it back to camp.

Snakestripe finished grooming her head and smirked, placing her paw back on the ground and picking up her large catch. "And I couldn't be prouder," she mewed in a muffled tone, starting on her way back to camp. Mallardstar chose not to reply and instead followed the tabby through the vegetation, wincing as long grass whipped her eyes and nettle plants snagged her fur. Snakestripe was the mother to Sandpaw and her two littermates, Frogpaw and Mudpaw. She had also birthed a previous litter, comprising of the young warrior Lizardstripe and the late apparentice Spottedpaw, who had died of greencough. Despite the loss, Snakestripe was considered a model she-cat - a strong warrior, opponent to the opposite sex, and a contributor to the next generation. _Something I'm not, _she thought with a frown.

There was nothing out of the ordinary back at camp. The daily patrols were out in the marshlands, and whatever cats remained in camp were silently sharing tongues underneath thin trees and rocky overhangs to avoid the searing heat. By the nursery, she spotted Russetkit and Minnowkit playing with a ball of moss, with their mother silently watching them by the den's entrance. Now four moons old, the kits were as energetic as ever (well, Russetkit surely was), and were growing bigger by the day. She wondered if the tom-kits were growing strong, too. Older toms meant more of a nuisance, but it was important to check up on them, since they were still technically under DeltaClan's protection.

Mallardstar herself crossed the stream to check up on the other half of the newest generation. Fortunately, she didn't have to strain her paw to move through the clear river water, which was much lighter than the murky bog water. The stream wasn't even that deep to begin with, as she could easily walk across without having to hold her head up high. But she was a big cat, and kits were small, meaning that they could never get across without the help of a raft. The tom-kits were in the middle of playing Clans in the small clearing that made up their temporary home, engaged in a mock battle. She couldn't help but smile at the kits' playfulness and watch them for a while before she became engrossed in her own memories.

_"Fear me, you unworthy opponents! I, Marblestar, the leader of KarstClan, will defeat you!" a marble-striped kit exclaimed, standing tall and mighty on the smallest ledge of the River Rock. The silver tabby was flanked by his goons, a pale gray tom, a dark tabby tom, and an uneasy grey-brown tom. _

_"Marblekit, the queens are gonna be on our tails if we cause too much trouble again! Look what happened last time!" the small gray-brown kit mewed, trying to slink away from the other toms, looking around to make sure no grown cat was watching. The large pale gray kit pounced behind him, making sure the little kit wouldn't get away. His round face flashed a smug grin, causing the smaller tom to shudder in fear._

_"Don't be such a weakling, Harekit! You're just as squeamish as Cloudkit!" the big tom mewed. Harekit, unable to leave, lowered his head and padded forward, back to his original position beside the ledge. Harekit had obviously been pressured into joining the miniature version of KarstClan, since he was the second-oldest tom in the nursery, just behind Marblekit. _

_"Boulderkit is right! Besides, this is just a game of Clans," Marblekit huffed, looking around. "But even so, the River Rock is ours! Nobody can challenge us! We're too strong!" All three tom-kits squealed in victory, prancing around the perimeter of the smallest ledge as if the whole thing actually belonged to them. However, the tom-kits were so engrossed in their arrogance and false bravado that they barely noticed the presence of a tortoiseshell she-kit who was sitting just a fox-length away. She sat as still as a rock, her placid expression showing no hint of emotion as she waited for someone to notice her. For StarClan's sake, if these cats were in charge of a clan, it would be a terrible one. _

_Finally, Marblekit opened his eyes and gazed upon his sister, his expression quickly turning to one of disgust. "What do you want, Mallardkit? Here to steal the River Rock?" he sneered, standing up even taller. All but Harekit took a defending stance, narrowing their kit-blue eyes at the lone she-kit as if she were a piece of prey._

_"Get out of here, she-kit! You're not supposed to be in charge of KarstClan!" Boulderkit growled, his upper lip curling into a sneer._

_"Don't ruin our fun!" the young Adderkit squeaked, his brown-and-ginger fur fluffing up. "Go back to the nursery with the she-kits!" Adderkit was the youngest tom of the bunch, but made up for the age gap with his overwhelmingly opinionated and rash nature._

_Mallardkit payed no attention to anyone but Marblekit, taking no offense to any of their statements. She simply blinked her eyes, never once moving from her spot. "I stood here for ten whole seconds while you lot were busy cheering for your 'victory.' If you ran a clan, you'd be so blind that rogues and predators would live right in your camp," she mewed with a small sigh. _

_The tom-kits stared at her for a second in disbelief, aghast by what she had said. How dare a she-kit challenged their noble and mighty clan? They had no right to do that! Nobody did! "Oh yeah? Well what army do you have? From the looks of it, it's just you and no one else!" Marblekit retorted. Discovering that they had an advantage against the she-kit, the tom-kits smirked and showed off their little white teeth. Harekit had slowly moved to the stream at this point, hiding beneath the most shallow parts of the water. Nobody called after him to return, and no one seemed to care where he went. "KarstClan, I think we should teach this she-kit a lesson!" Marblekit growled as the tom-kits bunched up their hind limbs, ready to pounce. _

_Mallardkit didn't even have to flick her tail to give the signal. The tom-kits were so loud that anyone could hear them. Two small figures leapt down from the highest point of the River Rock, landing on Boulderkit and Adderkit's shoulders, earning an "oof" from the two surprised toms. Two other she-kits raced over from the nursery to help non-violently subdue Marblekit's two lackies. Marblekit was trembling in his place, staring back and forth as the combined strength of Snakekit, Falconkit, Breezekit, and Cloudkit overwhelmed his two lackies. He was unaware of anything else, and he paid the price for his ignorance as he was pulled down to the ground by Mallardkit. _

_He tried to batter her with sheathed forepaws, and she purposely took the hit so she could fall on her back and heave him up into the air with her hind paws. He tried to twist in the air with his legs, hoping to catch her nose, but she managed to move right underneath him and leapt into the air, grabbing hold of his sides and turning them over so that Marblekit landed on his back, sheltering her fall. Though short, the fall took the breath out of the tom-kit, giving Mallardkit enough time to place a white paw on his chest as a quick sign of victory. As planned, the four other she-kits had defeated their toms, placing one paw on their chests and using their other limbs to hold down theirs. "You should be more aware next time, Marblekit," Mallardkit mewed with an indifferent tone, her body language showing no signs of dwelling in triumph even though she was almost squealing in her head._

_Marblekit blinked his wide eyes at her, unable to say anything. How could this be? He had formed a group of the eldest, strongest tom-kits in the nursery. How could a whole bunch of she-kits defeat them so effortlessly? He was sure that they had everything covered! Mallardkit let her brother up, claiming his former position at the top of the smallest ledge of the River Rock. Marblekit was forced to retreat from the River Rock, along with the other toms, who were humiliated by losing to she-kits. _

_"Yeah! We beat the arrogant toms!" Falconkit squeaked, bouncing with happiness. Breezekit and Cloudkit also chimed in on their victory against the toms, talking amongst themselves of how little of a fight Adderkit put up, and how embarrassed Boulderkit was at the very end. Mallardkit watched over the she-kits from her ledge, smiling to herself. She was glad to see that everyone was so happy, now that the toms had been kicked off of the River Rock. She wouldn't claim the rock for their "clan," but she just wanted to get the annoying tom-kits away. Everyone in the clan was starting to get annoyed by their constant chattering._

_"How does it feel to be DeltaClan's leader, Mallard_star_?" Snakekit squeaked beneath her. The small tabby's kit-blue eyes were round and happy as she stared up at her best friend. She had been one of the kits that had taken down Boulderkit, a much larger tom. Mallardkit saw in the final moments of the "battle" that she had done so efficiently, despite her small size. She wasn't named after a snake for just any reason._

_"It's nothing, really," Mallardkit replied, leaping down from the rock. "To be honest, I just wanted Marblekit and his mouse-brained followers to stop acting so annoying." _

_"Oh, don't act so passive!" Snakekit replied, nudging her shoulder playfully. "Mallardkit, you were great at leading the whole plan! And the way you took down Marblekit? It was so cool! In fact, I bet that you'll actually become the leader some day! I just know it!" _

_The young tortie looked at her friend to see whether or not she was being serious. To lead a mock battle was one thing, but leading a clan was an entirely greater responsibility! "Snakekit, we're only two moons old. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and who knows what'll happen!" she mewed. She wanted Snakekit to see her logic, but the look in the small kit's eyes told her that she wouldn't let go of the topic. Would Mallardkit really end up becoming DeltaClan's leader? Would she ever want to? She was so young, and something so grand was so, so many moons away. But she couldn't deny that she felt satisfied with today's adventure, and how every she-kit looked at her with awe as she dealt the final blow on Marblekit._

_So, would she want to become a leader? It was certainly within her ability, she thought. Obviously she would receive the hunting and fighting skills upon apprenticeship required to become a great warrior. And you couldn't become a leader unless you were a strong warrior. But did she really have the makings to be one? She didn't want to spoil herself with such arrogant thoughts - she wasn't Marblekit! "Look, maybe I'll think about it. I wanna focus on becoming the best warrior possible, and if wanting to be a leader becomes a part of it, then so be it. But there's no guarantee it'll happen," she mewed. She took one more look at her friend, and her blue eyes sparkled when she thought of what she would say next. "Besides, I wouldn't want to become a leader unless you were my deputy."_

_Snakekit smiled, her eyes bright and shining. "It's a deal!" she squeaked. _

It had been many moons since then, but the memories were still fresh in her mind. She looked back at the kits, but found that they had finished their battle. Silverkit - Silver_star, _probably - had his paw placed on the chest of Frostkit, puffing out his chest in pride. She would've watched more of their antics, had it not been for a little shape that bumped into her side. She looked down and found the small figure of Ferretkit laying on his side, leaves spilled everywhere. The kit lay there for a few seconds before opening his amber eyes, blinking them up at Mallardstar. Once he recognized who it was, he squeaked in alarm and stood up, gathering the leaves together with his tiny paws. "I-I'm so sorry Mallardstar! I wasn't looking where I was going and I bumped into you! I'm sorry!" the tabby pleaded.

Mallardstar simply purred, licking the top of the kit's head. "There's no need to apologize, young one. It was an honest mistake," she replied. She studied the tom before realizing that he had spilled some herbs in the process of running into her. "What are those for?" she asked.

Ferretkit gathered the leaves in his jaws again, so his words were muffled by the herbs. Fortunately, that was a language she understood well. "Cloudspeck wants me to give these borage leave to Breezewind in the nursery, but I gotta cross the stream to do that," he mewed.

Her tail-tip twitched when Ferretkit mentioned his mother. It was dangerous for tom-kits to have any contact with their female kin after two moons, for they might foster familial emotions. She would have to ask Cloudspeck why she sent a tom-kit to his mother and littermates who had obviously been very hesitant to let him go. _Sandpaw and her better be very busy, _she thought. Perhaps this was a test to see whether or not his feelings for his kin had disappeared. That, she could understand. But Ferretkit had to cross the river first, and the rafts were on the other side of the stream!

"Since the rafts are on the other side of the stream, why not ride on my back?" she offered. She could tell the kit was a bit uncertain about the prospect of riding casually on the leader's back, but it was nothing to her. She felt something within her that wanted to help young Ferretkit. It wasn't maternal instincts, was it? She never had kits (and didn't want to, frankly), so she couldn't tell why she felt that way. She lowered her back and soon felt tiny claws prick her pelt as Ferretkit climbed on her back. She found the whole thing to be rather cute, but never would admit it. She desperately hoped that no one was watching.

"All aboard the Mallardstar raft," she chuckled, padding into the stream and feeling the cool water well up around her paws and sides, soothing whatever little pricks Ferretkit left on her. She could hear the kitten chuckle, albeit rather nervously. He was clinging onto her back for dear life, careful not to slip or let the leaves fall from his jaws. She remembered the water battle a moon ago waged between the toms and she-cats, and how Ferretkit's raft had been swamped by the combined forces of Shadowpaw and Minnowkit. It was one of the rare moments in clan life where toms and she-cats could have a somewhat friendly competition, and it was an opportunity for kits to socialize and learn team skills. But if she could recall, Ferretkit didn't seem too happy to be playing with the others. In fact, that was the last time she had seem him playing with the other tom-kits. "Why aren't you playing with the other kits?" she asked him out of the blue. She didn't know why she asked him that, after her previous conversation with Breezewind about the kit's social relations. But it was a rational question, wasn't it? Whenever she looked across the stream, she could see all of Falconstreak's kits play games while Ferretkit sat off to the side. StarClan, did this have to do with Ferretkit's gender thing?

She could feel the anxiety ripple off of the kit's pelt. She knew that she had struck a nerve that she hadn't meant to do, and Mallardstar wished that she could take back those words. What if he was getting bullied? _No, stop overthinking this. Perhaps he's just shy. It shouldn't be that hard of a question to answer, _she thought.

"W-Well, I've been sick a lot lately, so Sandpaw and Cloudspeck have been keeping me in their den most of the time," Ferretkit squeaked out, looking down at the water beneath him. "Also, I don't think they want to...play with me," he added in a softer voice, just loud enough so that she could hear. Mallardstar almost stopped wading across the stream. So it was bullying, wasn't it? _Oh no, did Ferretkit tell the other kits about his...issue? Wait, why am I sounding so negative about this? He - or they, whatever Ferretkit wants to be called - shouldn't have to be sad about this! But then again, it does throw off the whole clan society, doesn't it? _she thought. _In that sense, shouldn't Ferretkit be worried?_

She barely noticed that they had reached land. She lowered her body so that Ferretkit could climb off, borage leaves and all. Ferretkit dipped his head in thanks, and began to head over to the nursery. "Ferretkit, wait," she called after him. Pricking his ears, the kit turned around, slowly walking back to her. She lowered her head to see him better, dark blue eyes meeting with amber. "If you...have any trouble, you can see me," she blurted out. She watched the kit blink at her with wide, round eyes, but said nothing. "As a clan leader, I'm not just some noble figure on top a rock to dictate everyone. I have to provide for my clan's emotional needs."

Ferretkit blinked at her again, staring at the leader for a few heartbeats. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. Was that too bold of her? He was just a kit! She wasn't his mother. Then again, now he technically didn't have one. Slowly, Ferretkit began to walk away, but not before looking back at Mallardstar with a look that seemed to say, "Can I trust you?"

_Please, just trust me. StarClan knows what I'm getting myself into, but I need you to trust me. There's something...different about you. And kit, let me tell you, these clans hate different._


	7. Chapter 6

**Happy 2015! Here's to learning from last year so that we can all have a happier, better year!**

**And learning that she-cats don't scream bloody murder when giving birth. Literally. They would be found and killed by a predator if they did lol.**

**lawsonsog - I think Ferretkit's going to have trouble wherever they go, so there's nothing they can really do to avoid conflict.**

**SmilePyrVulpi - Unfortunately, Frostkit will become KarstClan's medicine cat apprentice, due to his disability (will be explained later). And no, medicine cats aren't allowed to take mates, just like in the other clans. As for proofreading, I try and do the best myself, but there's always errors that slip by. I'm trying to get my friend to do some proofreading, though.**

**And I generally try and keep the stories realistic (as realistic as Warriors can be). But since I'm trying to keep the story as PG as I can, so I can't explain the heat/mating processes. The only thing I'm allowing myself to include is that pairs will meet up in the spring, where she-cats are more receptive.**

**As for myself, I'm cisgendered (female) and demisexual/demiromantic. Thanks for the reviews!**

**ScipioPB - Exactly. Mallardstar still isn't sure what pronouns to address Ferretkit by, but she'll learn soon enough.**

**blueskydog - Mallardstar is one of my favorite cats to write, and I love her so much!**

**FanficTo-A-T - I use "they" for Ferretkit because "it" is commonly used as transphobic slur to mock non-cisgendered individuals, implying that they aren't people.**

**And you won the Breezewind name-changing competition with Breezefur, along with Amberfoot7! Now I just need to find a way to change her name in the text. :\  
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>Ferretkit had absolutely no clue why Mallardstar had taken a sudden interest in them. In the eyes of everyone, they were a tom-kit, and should thus never receive the same treatment she-kits would in DeltaClan. A small part of Ferretkit hoped that Mallardstar had looked past their birth sex (or maybe considered they were something else. Wait, no, that wouldn't happen) and had treated them just like another clanmate. A larger part of Ferretkit said that Mallardstar was just playing her role as the helpful clan leader, and seeing that the latter theory was the most logical, they decided that must have been the case. But that was nothing to be concerned about. They had a task.<p>

It had been three moons since Ferretkit had been in the nursery, and stepping inside triggered a rush of memories from way back then. The warm den still smelled strongly of milk (of course, that scent had grown permanent after generations of queens) and Russetkit and Minnowkit were still play-fighting amongst themselves, although they had all the room in the world to do so. Ferretkit's heart pained at seeing their littermates. They missed their siblings dearly, and would rather spend time with the two she-kits rather than the troublesome, harsh tom-kits. But that would be against clan policy, so it couldn't be. Just another reason to hate these dumb clan rules.

The two she-kits stopped their mock fight when they noticed the presence of the new cat in the den. Almost at once, Russetkit nearly bowled her littermate over. "Ferretkit!" she exclaimed, yellow eyes bright with happiness as Ferretkit struggled underneath her weight and desperately tried to keep the borage leaves in their jaws from falling out and being trampled by the red tabby she-kit's paws.

"Hello, Ferretkit!" Minnowkit mewed in a pleasant voice, bounding over to them. Her gray tail fluffed straight up above as she nuzzled her sibling in a less-aggressive fashion than her sister. Ferretkit was so happy that, for a second, they had forgotten about their whole mission! They were so happy to see that Russetkit and Minnowkit hadn't forgotten them after all! Ferretkit was sure that their sisters had succumbed to DeltaClan behavioristics and had stripped all previous familial affection for them.

"Why, this is a surprise. Hello there!" a familiar smooth voice called from the back of the den. Glancing out from behind Russetkit, Ferretkit saw the shape of their mother sitting contently in a moss nest, her blue eyes glittering at them. They could tell that Breezefur had seen the whole affectionate greeting between the littermates, but she didn't say anything. Ferretkit could detect a flash of trouble in the she-cat's eyes, and at once they attempted to hide all previous feelings of elation and excitement.

Letting them up, Ferretkit awkwardly padded over to their mother, dropping the borage leaves at her paws. "This is from Cloudspeck," they mewed slowly. Ferretkit knew that they had to leave, but their paws seemed to be attached to the ground, and their legs refused to carry them outside. It was incredibly awkward being inside the nursery. Without Falconstreak and her kits, the entire den seemed much more unnatural and empty, and it was hard for Ferretkit to believe that they had been born here. Not to mention, the social stigma of toms in DeltaClan practically meant that Ferretkit was an outsider, even if they didn't identify as a tom.

"Thank you," their mother replied, chewing up the herbs at her paws. She looked at her kit for a moment longer after that, almost as if she were struggling to find more words to say. "So, you're Cloudspeck's little helper, eh?" she asked them, stifling a short purr.

"I guess," Ferretkit replied, kneading the ground with their paws. They couldn't help but feel taken aback at their mother's attempt to continue the conversation, and even a little hurt that a mother would feel so uncomfortable around her kitten. But Ferretkit had learned by now to keep complaints to a minimum, even if their mind was raging with questions. "She's asked the other kits for help, but not often. They don't really want to help," they added, moving their eyes to the side.

Breezefur blinked, twitching the tip of her ear. "So does that mean you're planning on becoming Haretail's apprentice when the time comes?" she asked. She purposely left out the fact that Haretail was her brother. Yet again, familial affection between the sexes was strictly forbidden.

Ferretkit shook their head. "No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I heard Cloudspeck and Sandpaw saying that Frostkit's going to become his apprentice, since he's nearly deaf," they answered with a small sigh. It really didn't seem fair that Frostkit was going to become a medicine cat apprentice because of his disability. But the little white tom didn't seem to mind the prospect of the position, so there wasn't really a problem at all. At least he was able to consent.

Breezefur sighed in agreement. They had secretly hoped that their mother would continue sighing, since it meant more time until her gaze returned to them and more time until one of them would either have to bring up an entirely new topic or end the conversation altogether. Ferretkit's amber eyes implored their mother's eyes, and for a moment they felt like screaming. Screaming all of the questions that they had gathered over the past three moons. Why couldn't they go back to the nursery? Why is the separation of kittens from their mothers supposedly a good thing? Who made up the dumb rules in the first place? None of this was fair! They just wanted to be with their mother and sisters again like any normal kit should!

They could feel their eyes begin to grow warm and well up, meaning that tears were on the way. Before anything could happen, Ferretkit mewed a quick "goodbye" to their mother before turning and heading rather quickly out of the nursery. They could hear their name called by their sisters behind them, followed by a sharp hiss from their mother to silence them. Letting out a small hiss, Ferretkit quickly walked over to the stream's edge, trying to get away from the nursery as much as they could.

"Hey look, it's Freakkit!" came a sharp mew from the other edge of the stream. As if things couldn't get worse, Silverkit and his possey of siblings were leering at him from the other side. "Going to join the nursery, Freakkit? Decided you're gonna be a she-cat today? Hah!" Silverkit exclaimed with a lash of his tail. Tortoisekit also shouted some nasty words across the stream, and Frostkit, solely relying on his brothers for what to do, laughed along. Stormkit was the only one of the brothers to not laugh at them. Perhaps he didn't have the hivemind mentality of his siblings, or he just didn't care at all.

Ferretkit's eyes welled up with tears. They wanted to jump across the river and claw Silverkit and his ugly fiends, but they were too small and too frightened to do anything. StarClan, they couldn't even move! Not knowing what to do, Ferretkit only watched the jeering littermates, trying to plaster on an indifferent expression as their only form of defense. They weren't sure of how long this whole ordeal would last until they were covered by a larger shadow. Turning around, Ferretkit saw the small, yet intimidating figure of Snakestripe glaring at all four of them. "Isn't time for nap time, kits?" she growled across the stream.

Breezefur ran up beside her, her pelt fluffed out at different angles. "I heard the kits over there. What in StarClan's name is going on here?" Ferretkit's mother asked, her eyes darting from her kit to her sister, and from her sister to the kits across the water, who had by now retreated back into their dens out of fear that the grumpy deputy would claw their ears off. Snakestripe seemed to give off that impression to cats she didn't know well.

"Something about being a 'she-cat' and being called 'Freakkit,' or something like that," the tabby huffed, turning away from them and heading over to the fresh-kill pile. Snakestripe didn't seem to be nearly as agitated as her littermate was. Toms were too moronic to make sense, so there was no way they were worth her time.

Breezefur's eyes widened, staring after her sister briefly before ushering Ferretkit over to the side of camp with her plumy tail. "Is what she said true?" she immediately asked them once they had gotten out of earshot. Her eyes were furious, though Ferretkit couldn't tell if she was angry at them, or angry about something else entirely. With no time to make up a story, Ferretkit knew that the only way out of this situation was to tell the truth. But what good would that do if they were too frightened to talk? They could only muster a small nod, trembling in their place as their mother loomed over them like a vulture.

Breezefur sighed, taking a moment to think to herself before her eyes snapped back to their cross state. "You need to stop this whole gender thing this second!" she growled. "It was somewhat tolerable when you were two moons old and didn't know much about anything at all. But for StarClan's sake, you're five moons old now! What will happen when you move to KarstClan? Do you really think the toms will handle such nonsense?"

Nonsense? Was that what she thought this whole thing was? Was that what everyone thought this was? Why in StarClan's name were they so dense? "It isn't nonsense!" Ferretkit snapped back, feeling a strength course through their veins that they hadn't felt before. "I'm serious about this! Why can't you just understand? It's not my fault you and everyone else can't accept me!" They were tired of feeling like that their identity was something so odd and insignificant that it could be brushed off like dust.

The second those final words escaped their mouth, Ferretkit felt a stinging pain erupt from the side of their face. The world grew entirely silent except for the beating of their heart, which resonated louder than usual. They could feel something warm trickle down their cheek. Ferretkit rubbed a paw over their face and slowly brought it back to their line of sight. They were speechless at finding that their paw was covered with blood. Ferretkit had never seen blood before, but they could recognize what it was from instinct. Forcing their eyes to look up from their bloody paw, they saw the sharp claws of Breezefur glinting in the light, coated a similar shade of red. Her eyes, for a second, looked like chips of ice, tempered and cold with a hint of emotion that Ferretkit thought looked like worry.

In the following second, she realized what had happened. The anger was replaced by a look of abhorrence, and the she-cat's eyes began to wander from her claws to her kit's face. She slowly lowered her paw, but the action couldn't erase the damage that her claws had done, stained red with the blood of her own kin.

Ferretkit was just as frightened, if not ten times more so that Breezefur. S-She clawed me! She really clawed me! they thought to themself. How could she? She was their mother! Did she really hate them that much? The pain in their cheek couldn't come close to the pain in the little kit's heart. I'm such an idiot. Why did I think she would accept me? She's just like Silverkit and the others!

Breezefur stepped forward, about to mew her apology to her kit when Ferretkit stepped back, hissing at her outstretched paw. "Get away from me!" they cried, running away from the gray-brown she-cat. They could hear her call after them, but they had no wish to go back. Ferretkit looked around to see where they could retreat. The stream was too wide for them to cross, and they wouldn't be caught dead with the troublesome siblings. They would be unwelcomed in any of the other dens, too, so the only option was to leave camp entirely. The gray-and-cream tabby made a dash for the edge of the stream, teetering on the rocky sides in attempt to escape. The narrow yet deep stretch of water swirled beneath them, sloshing up at the sides of the narrow bank as if trying to reach for them.

Fortunately, they had made it outside safely without falling in the stream. Ferretkit had never been in the swamplands before, but the kit was too distracted by their emotions to observe the new environment. They walked around for a while, careful where to put their paws. The soggy terrain was new to the kit, and their paws made a squishing noise every time they touched the ground. There was a small willow tree ahead, and Ferretkit decided that would make the perfect hiding spot, with long gray leaves protecting him from hungry predators or scornful cats. They had never climbed a tree before, but it wouldn't hurt to practice now, would it? Cats climbed trees by using their claws to hook onto bark and moved themselves upward with their limbs. That couldn't be too hard, right? Unsheathing their claws, Ferretkit hooked both paws into the tree, along with their right hind leg. Clenching their teeth, Ferretkit strengthened their grip on the tree and pushed upward with their last free leg. With all four paws on the tree, it seemed to be going great until their legs screamed under the pressure, causing Ferretkit to fall back onto the ground. They hit the ground with a small thud, back sore from the impact. Fortunately, they hadn't climbed high enough where it would've resulted in any injury. "I guess I'm not strong enough for that. What good am I, really?" they sighed, looking up at the cloudless blue sky. Everything that Ferretkit thought and did seemed to received criticism from someone. If everything they did was so wrong, what was the point in continuing?

The sky turned darker moments later, changing from its usual pale blue hue to a much darker one, hinting with a little peculiar indigo. Wait, that wasn't the sky. Those were eyes! Ferretkit realized that they were looking into the curious eyes of the clan leader. "Mallardstar?" they mewed, hesitating in their place before nervously standing back on all fours. "W-What are you doing here?" they asked.

"Kits shouldn't be out of camp," the large she-cat mewed in a stern matter. "You should be lucky I found you instead of some coyote or other predator."

In an ordinary situation, Ferretkit would've been scared out of their mind to be caught out of camp and bear the wrath of their mother, like any other normal kit. But I'm not a normal kit, so nobody would really care, would they? they asked themself. There were enough odd things about Ferretkit that they weren't surprised they were defying the very common behaviors of kits. "I think it would've been better if a predator found me. Nobody even cares about me," they sighed.

Mallardstar was confused. She had gone out into the marshlands on account of a concerned Breezefur and an equally-confused Snakestripe. Breezefur refused to tell her what had happened, so Mallardstar set out after a lost kit with no knowledge. However, it was easy to tell what happened, judging from the marks on the kit's face that matched the color of the mother's claws. She couldn't help but lash her tail with anger. She would have to have a talk with that she-cat later. But for now, she figured that prodding the traumatized kit with questions would only worsen his condition. Attempting to comfort the tabby, she wrapped her tail slowly around the kit and sat down beside him. "Ferretkit, you can tell me what's wrong. I'm always here to listen. What's the matter? You're always away from the other kits and refuse to speak with them. And now claw marks? Please tell me what's wrong," she mewed in a soft voice.

What use was there in telling her? If she was as hateful as the other cats, that would do them no good. But Mallardstar seemed to persuasive, so caring...could she really care to listen - or more importantly, believe - the idea of a kit that identified as something beyond tom or she-cat. But they had to trust her, right? After all, she was their only ticket back to camp. They had surely lost their way home by now. That is, if they could even really consider DeltaClan a home. But hey, what was one more negative cat to the list? "W-Well, you might think this is crazy, but I...don't feel like a tom or a she-cat," they sighed. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of their small chest. What was so important about letting the leader know?

Mallardstar stared at them for a little bit, blinking their eyes as the only form of movement. Then, finally, she decided to answer. "I don't think that's crazy," she replied.

"Wait, what?" Ferretkit asked, unable to believe what they were hearing. Not crazy? Well, that was a first! The tabby wanted to feel happy that Mallardstar had been the first cat not to react negatively to their gender, but they were too confused as to why she didn't. Ferretkit never expected this. Does she really accept me? they thought.

"I can't say I've heard a cat say that before," the tortoiseshell began, "But who am I to judge? You're a smart kit for your age, I can tell. I now know you wouldn't make this up. But StarClan, isn't this something. My, a kit defying his-"

"Actually," Ferretkit cut in, "I feel better being called by 'they' and 'them.' It makes me feel like I'm a tom, if that makes sense." Ferretkit felt their fur flush beneath their pelt. Oh, how foolish was that! They cut off the clan leader! Such a disrespectful act, especially for a kit! Ferretkit expected to be met by a reprimanding glare, but instead saw that the she-cat simply nodded her head. Her eyes were warm and kind, meaning that she understood their statement. Then, she took a much more serious expression, one that seemed to better fit that of a clan leader.

Mallardstar sighed. Her moment of warmth had quickly dissipated when, like always, she considered the future of Ferretkit. Now, she accepted Ferretkit for who they were, but what about KarstClan? That was of the greatest concern; would they be able to accept Ferretkit like she would? Judging from the way toms were, probably not. "Ferretkit, while I may be able to accept your decision, there will be many cats who won't. Well, you probably know that already. As much as I'd like to keep you here, I have no choice but to send you to KarstClan next moon. I already relayed to Boulderstar that I would be giving him five toms," she mewed. Oh, how she wished she could do something about it. Unfortunately, at this point in clan history, both clans were so afraid to instigate each other in fear of the next generation. Not that Boulderstar seemed to care, however. She wasn't weak, but Mallardstar would never try and irritate that tyrant.

The look in Ferretkit's eyes made her hate herself even more for that decision. "Is KarstClan really as bad as everyone makes it out to be?" they asked. If KarstClan and toms really were the beasts the she-cats spoke of, what would they do to them? For StarClan's sake, even cats in DeltaClan couldn't accept them! I wish I could just leave these clans all together, away from all the judgement and anger. But what can a kit do out in the wild? they thought. Did they really have a home where they could be safe?

"I'm sorry Ferretkit, but they are," Mallardstar sighed. What could she do for them? She was a leader, so why couldn't she give the kit the life that they deserved? Some things are beyond a leader's power, I'm afraid. But still, there must be something! There's got to be some strategy, or anything that will at least guarantee Ferretkit a fairly safe life, she thought. Of course, only one strategy came to mind: repression. After all, that was the strategy that had worked for her. It was the only one that could. Refusing to conform to clan life resulted in a consequence that no cat wanted to think of. Life only existed along the river, so being removed from clan territory meant certain death. Mallardstar realized this very early on, so that meant she would have to repress her own desires and conform to clan life by being assigned to a mate and eventually bearing kits for the good of the species. Sometimes, she wondered how many other cats had to repress their feelings.

"There's only one solution that might guarantee you a safe future, even if you don't like it," she mewed. She could feel Ferretkit's amber eyes burning into her pelt like the sun's harsh rays, singing every hair. She hated herself for what she was about to say, but it was the only thing she could do. "You must repress your feelings. By that, I mean that you must act as if you're nothing but a regular tom. It's the only way that KarstClan won't be out for your pelt."

Ferretkit was torn. They knew that Mallardstar was looking out for their best interest and wasn't pleased with the "solution," but Ferretkit couldn't stand the thought of pretending to be someone they weren't. This is just ridiculous! Why can't cats just accept me for who they are? I'm not hurting them! But if persuasion won't change their minds like the cats here, then I guess I'll have to go with it. Mallardstar's right. It'll be the only way cats won't be after my pelt. I hate these dumb clans, they thought. This meant that Ferretkit would have to tell everyone but Mallardstar that found out about their identity that it was all a phase, or some little joke. They would have to go by tom pronouns and become a warrior of KarstClan, just like an ordinary tom. It seemed like a simple task, but it would sting them for the rest of their life.

As a final gesture, Mallardstar touched her nose to Ferretkit's. For a second, it reminded Ferretkit of the fabled apprentice ceremony that they would participate in come next moon. Only, they would be sharing a similar gesture with Boulderstar, not Mallardstar. How Ferretkit much preferred the latter. "But this will always be our little secret, no matter what happens. You'll always have support from across the border. Now let's get you back to camp.

**Aaaaaand that's the chapter! In the next one, we'll finally get to see Ferretkit's apprentice ceremony, along with another Mallardstar flashback! Sorry it's been a while since the last update. School's back from break and I'm working on a showcase project for one of the schools I attend. I've also been trying to work on my other fanfiction, The Night Bird. Check it out!**

**Oh, and just for fun, I'll be starting a fun fact section at the end of each chapter, along with a personal question.**

**Fun Fact: I can't seem to write a story without picking a specific location. For this story, I've chosen to set DeltaClan and KarstClan in the Grand Canyon of Arizona, USA. I've been there before, and it's a really neat place!**

**Question: If you were practically forced to hide a secret that influenced your entire life, would you?**


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